Chapter Seven
U.S.S Voyager
A Short Time Later
Lieutenant Thomas Eugene Paris left the bridge after the end of his bridge shift. Although Captain Janeway had temporarily relieved him of duty when they'd brought that hybrid aboard he had wanted to take his bridge shifts as normal – especially after the battle that they'd been through with the Delkari. He'd spoken to Captain Janeway in her ready room shortly after she'd returned from the Taelon space station and told her that he would much rather do his duties as normal than sit in his quarters doing nothing. His commanding officer had understood that and agreed to have Chakotay put him back on the normal rota – starting with his regular evening command shift – which had just ended with him yielding bridge command to Harry who alternated commanding D shift with Tuvok, who had it depended on who was on A shift in the morning.
As the turbolift descended through the ship towards deck five where his and B'Elanna's quarters were Tom thought about what he was going to do now. He wasn't really that tired at the moment, and he found it hard to sleep alone these days and tonight he would be sleeping alone as B'Elanna was busy in engineering overseeing the repairs which were proceeding at break neck speed thanks mainly to the assistance of engineers sent over from the station. One had even come onto the bridge to help their engineers repair the damaged consoles. He'd been nervous around the female hybrid for a good couple of minutes as she started helping with repairs – but he'd surprised himself by eventually ignoring her presence on the bridge. He'd found that if he didn't think about what she was then he wasn't overly bothered.
After a moment – as the lift shifted to horizontal transit – he decided that he would think about what to do when he got to his quarters. He could always use the holodeck – he had many holodeck programs besides Captain Proton, one of them would be certain to keep him happy for a couple of hours until he grew tired.
When he got to his and B'Elanna's quarters a few moments later he received a shock. B'Elanna was there standing over by the table laying it. She looked up at the sound of the doors opening. She smiled when she saw him – she found the look on her husbands face quiet amusing. She could tell that Tom was very surprised to see her in their quarters.
"Surprise," she said grinning from ear to ear. "You thought I would still be in engineering didn't you?"
"Yes I did," Tom confessed as he came over and they embraced as they always did when reunited at the end of duty shifts. "After all your usually reluctant to leave engineering whenever theirs damage to be repaired."
"Well I made an exception this time," she replied. "The repairs are going smoothly. All the damage will be repaired by the morning. So I though I don't really have to stay here tonight – after all I have been awake for the better part of two days – so I left Carey in charge and came home. Those engineers the Taelons sent over are damned good the tools and equipment they've brought with them are making the repairs progress three times faster than they would normally do."
"Yes they are good aren't they," Tom said. "One of them actually came to the bridge with one of the engineering crews. With her help they actually had all the damaged bridge systems back up and running in about half hour."
"Were you okay being so close to her," B'Elanna asked eyeing him in concern. She knew that seeing both the Taelons and the hybrids was stirring up painful memories in him. Memories of what Rusal had done to him. "Are you all right being here at all?" Tom considered for a moment.
"Yes and no," he confessed going over to window. Leaning against the frame he looked out upon the myriad of stars – all of them unfamiliar but that was always the case here in the Delta Quadrant. "It's like there are times when I can look at them and feel nothing except gratitude for them helping us. But at other times I look at them and…"
"And seeing them makes you remember what Rusal did to you," B'Elanna finished for him. She left where she was standing by the table and came to stand besides him. Tom nodded.
"I know that they've never done anything to hurt me," Tom went on still looking out the window. "Hell there the ones that saved me from Gul Yurad and made me Human again. If Captain Ju'su hadn't shown up when he did I don't know what would have happened. Though knowing the damned Cardassians it wouldn't have been very nice. Especially since I'd just killed one of their best military scientists. I'm grateful for what they did to help me – as soon as I started hearing them in my mind they were reassuring and kept telling me that I would be all right. It's just seeing them now makes me remember something that I would much rather forget."
"That I can understand." And understand she did. What had been done to Tom had been kind of like what the Vidiians had done to her a few years ago when they'd split her into two separate individual versions of herself one fully Human and one fully Klingon in an attempt to find a cure for the phage. It had been one of the worst experiences of her life even though in retrospect it had eventually helped her to understand a little bit more of who she was, lessened the ferocity of the war between the Human and the Klingon that raged inside her soul on a regular basis.
Tom glanced at her even as she remembered what the Vidiians had done to her.
"I know you can," he said softly he too remembered that instance. In many ways being a friend to her in the aftermath of that incident had been the start of the relationship that eventually saw them dating and then a few weeks ago now getting married. Even now six years on B'Elanna still occasionally had nightmares about it – just like he still sometimes had nightmares about what Rusal had done to him, and about Calidik Prime – but they were not that common these days.
After a couple of moments of companionable silence B'Elanna finally spoke up.
"So what are we going to do on our leave time," she asked referring to the fact that everyone was going to be allowed to go on shore leave to the station and to the planet below once the repairs to Voyager were completed. "Spend it on the holodeck." Tom shook his head firmly.
"No we'll both end up getting cabin fever if we do that," he said softly. "No why don't we go down to the planets surface. I'm sure we can find a secluded place to have a nice quiet picnic or something, just the two of us. Before you ask I will be all right going down their B'Elanna. I won't hide away from any of this just because it's reminds me of that nightmarish encounter with the Cardassians I had years ago. If I did that then at the end of the day Rusal would have won. And I won't give that Cardassian bitch – whatever afterlife she's in now – that satisfaction."
"Good for you," B'Elanna replied proud of her husbands defiant attitude to the consequences of that experience. "Now then how about you and I have some supper. I don't know about you but I am starving." Tom laughed.
"Same here," he replied.
*****
Next MorningCaptain Kathryn Janeway settled down in her ready room feeling greatly refreshed after her nights sleep. Every system on Voyager was fully operational once more and the first members of the crew were preparing to go on shore leave to the station or the planet. Looking at the rota she was both startled and pleased to see that two who were going down to the planet around lunch time were Tom and B'Elanna. It was immediately clear to her that Tom wasn't going to let the demons of his past affect what he did with B'Elanna on their first shore leave as husband and wife. She had been pleased by the whole way Tom had conducted himself from just after his initial shock reaction when they'd brought that male hybrid – whose name they still didn't know – onboard. He had behaved remarkably well – refusing to let his past interfere with his duty.
"Bridge to Captain Janeway," Chakotay's voice said over the intercom. Janeway tapped her combadge.
"Yes commander?"
"We're being hailed by the Taelons captain. Da'an wishes to speak to you." Janeway swivelled her desk terminal around and activated it.
"Put him through here."
"Aye captain." Chakotay signed off and a moment later Da'an's face appeared on her screen. Da'an inclined his head slightly in greeting.
"Good morning Captain Janeway. I trust you slept well," the Taelon said.
"Fine thank you Da'an."
"I have good news for you Captain. The Synod has agreed to your request regarding the interdimensional technology," Da'an said. "However one of our engineers has reported that there is a problem."
"What kind of problem Da'an?"
"While repairing your ship our engineering crew also did an analysis of your propulsion and power systems. I am afraid that there are a number of incompatibilities with our technologies. We will eventually be able to overcome them but it will take some time. Zo'or – the leader of the Synod – has made a suggestion on how we can speed that process up but we would like your opinion."
"Go on."
"We were planning on sending one of our ships to Federation space to ask for help on your behalf. We could then bring any engineers or scientists back here to Ya'sa'ra to help adapt the ID technology to function on a Federation vessel." Janeway could imagine what Starfleet Command would say to that. They would jump at the chance – not just to get her ship back home, but to gain a new propulsion technology that didn't cause inadvertent damage to subspace in the way that warp engines did at higher speeds. And the Federation Diplomatic Corps would jump at the chance at making a potentially very useful alliance with a race as ancient and as powerful as the Taelons.
"That would be a good idea," she agreed after a moment. "I will have to record a message for Starfleet Command to explain everything but that won't be a problem. I can think of several specialists who could be of assistance to us."
"Then I will order a ship prepared," Da'an replied. "It will be ready to leave in an hour. Is that sufficient time for you to record your message?"
"Plenty of time. I will contact you again when the message is ready."
"Very well then. Until later."
"Until later Da'an." The Taelon gave her a final benign smile and then broke the transmission. Janeway tapped her combadge again. "Janeway to Chakotay please come to my ready room."
"I'll be right there captain," Chakotay responded.
*****
Ya'sa'ra Orbital Station A Short Time LaterDa'an looked up at the sound of someone entering the chambers he was currently using as an office on the station. He smiled warmly as soon as he saw who it was.
"Yes Liam?" he asked the Kimera hybrid who he didn't see often enough these days. What with Liam's duties as a general in the Defence Force and his own duties with the Synod that took him to wherever his skills were needed most in the Taelons galaxies sprawling empire. It was rare that he got a chance to see Liam for any length of time. Which made the time that that he could spend with his old friend that much more valuable.
"The ship we're sending to Earth is ready Da'an," Liam replied.
"Good. But I know you Liam you didn't come here just to tell me that."
"No I didn't," Liam admitted holding up a small datalog that had been cradled in the palm of his right hand. "Intelligence has been picking up increased traffic on enemy communications channels."
"Of what kind," Da'an asked in concern.
"We cannot tell. The information is highly encrypted. The nature of the code is significant."
"How so."
"The codes Jaridian. Prior enemy communications in this galaxy have always used Delkari codes. The codes were detecting now are definitely Jaridian in origin."
"Do you believe that the Jaridians are preparing to re-enter the war," Da'an asked in real concern. This second war with the Jaridian Empire had begun about forty Earth years ago – in that time the Jaridians had only taken part in the initial assaults before mysteriously pulling out of the battle and leaving their allies to fight the war.
"It is a possibility Da'an. I cannot think of any other reason for the sudden increase in Jaridian communications traffic. I believe that you should alert the Synod to the possibility."
"Indeed," Da'an agreed he gestured at the datalog that Liam was carrying. "Is that the information." Liam nodded and put it down on the table. "I will present it to the Synod. Hopefully if you are right the Jaridians will not attack until after this business with Voyager is concluded. I don't want to potentially drag the Federation into another war – they're only now picking themselves up from the Dominion war."
Liam nodded in agreement. They both knew about the Dominion war that had raged in the Alpha Quadrant. The Synod did make it a point to keep an eye on events in that part of the galaxy mainly on events that involved Humans.
"We just need to get Captain Janeway's recorded message," Liam said changing the subject back to Voyager. "Then the Shutari can get underway for Earth."
"Captain Janeway did call just before you came to see me. Her message is ready I said I would send someone to Voyager to go and get it."
"I'll go and get it myself Da'an." Da'an inclined his head slightly.
"You like Captain Janeway don't you Liam," he questioned.
"Yes," Liam admitted knowing full well that denying it would gain him nothing. He been friends with Da'an for all of his three hundred and sixty-seven years of life. Consequently he could read Da'an like a book and Da'an could do the same with him. "She's a strong resourceful woman. She kind of reminds me of Renee."
Da'an smiled sadly at the mention of Renee Palmer. She'd come with them when they'd left Earth – actually she'd come with Liam. Liam and Renee had married and spent the last sixty years of Renee's life together – they'd had a number of children together, their second child Ronald was currently an aide to Zo'or as his namesake Liam's Human father Ronald Sandoval had been before his death at the hands of anti-Taelon fanatics on Earth. They could have extended Renee's life by transferring her consciousness into a new hybrid body but she'd refused preferring to have the normal Human life span that she'd always accepted would be all the time she would ever have with Liam.
"Yes she does seem a lot like Renee Palmer," Da'an agreed. "Strong, determined and resourceful."
"I suppose she'd had to be to keep her crew alive. I mean this quadrant of the galaxy is not the most benign of palaces. Especially for a single ship. The fact that they've survived as long as they have – especially considering the enemies they've bumped into – is most impressive."
"Yes it is," Da'an agreed. "You had better go and get Captain Janeway's message Liam. I meanwhile will inform the Synod of the potential new Jaridian threat."
*****
U.S.S Voyager
Captain Kathryn Janeway stood in Voyager's airlock waiting patiently for whoever was coming to pick up the dataclip she was holding in her hand. She was surprised when General Kincaid stepped through the airlock and onto Voyager.
"General Kincaid this is a surprise," she said making the Taelon greeting gesture remembering that Taelons and hybrids didn't like the traditional Human handshake – she knew that it had something to do with the shaqarava though what that something was she didn't know. "I didn't expect you to come and pick up the message yourself," she continued.
"It was the least I could do Captain Janeway," Liam replied returning the greeting gesture. "We consider this situation a great opportunity to open a friendship between the Taelon Empire and the Federation. So I though I might as well take your message to the Shutari myself."
"We are honoured that you think so," Janeway replied as she handed him the clip. "Here you go."
"Thank you," Liam replied. "I will take it to Captain Ramirez immediately."
"Thank you," Janeway replied. Liam turned and started back to the airlock then he turned and looked back at Captain Janeway.
"Captain Janeway please call me Liam," he said after a moment then he left before she could respond.
Barely ten minutes later the heavy cruiser Shutari slipped her moorings and pulled away from the station. A second later she engaged her interdimensional drive and vanished from the Ya'sa'ra system on course for the system the Federation referred to as Sector 001, on course for Earth.